Has your instrument ever been damaged while flying?

Rachel Barton Pine’s violin is priceless — or very nearly (it’s worth more than 8 figures according to the above report from NBC News).

So when flight attendants wouldn’t let her store the instrument in an overhead compartment, she tried reasoning with them; she explained that she’s flown on every kind of aircraft and has never encountered an overhead space where her violin wouldn’t fit; she even cited a recent law that gives her the right to bring her instrument aboard; and then — still facing resistance — she got off the plane and booked another flight.

An annoyance, for sure, but at least she didn’t have to file an insurance claim for tens of millions of dollars for a broken piece of 18th Century spruce or maple.

Have you ever had an instrument damaged while flying?

I have. It sucks. But the best way to prevent that from happening is to 1) know your rights, 2) be prepared for the worst, and 3) pack that thing safely.

In this article

... is the Editor of CD Baby's DIY Musician Blog. I write Beatlesque indie-pop songs that've been praised by No Depression, KCRW, The LA Times, & others. My poems have appeared in Poetry Magazine, Prairie Schooner, The Poetry Review, & more. I live in Maine and like peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, a little too much.